Abstract: Seductive details are interesting but irrelevant details added to a passage to make
it more interesting, and research indicates that such details impair learning and recall of
information. Seductive details have traditionally included illustrations, facts, names, and
examples, but the effects of boxed material in textbooks have yet to be studied. If
seductive details impede normal readers, they may have particularly adverse affects on
students with serious reading problems, such as those with learning disabilities (LD) or
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study examined the effects
of boxed material on recall for both “Normal Control” (NC) and “Attentional Deficit”
(AD) participants, who each read one of two versions of a text passage entitled “People
with Severe and Multiple Disabilities.” The “Original Text” (OT) version contained
extraneous information and illustrations, set apart from the rest of the text, as they appear
in the textbook Human Exceptionality: Society, School, and Family (Hardman, Drew, &
Egan, 1999). The “Modified Text” (MT) version presented this information imbedded in
the text and illustrations and “Focus” questions from the margins were eliminated. The
Wender Utah Rating Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and a Personal History
Questionnaire were administered, and students completed a 45-question multiple choice
quiz on the passage material and a series of post-study questions. Results indicate that all
readers performed significantly better on text information (TI) questions than on boxed
information (BI) questions. Clearly contrary to prediction, however, AD participants
performed better, on average, than did NC participants, with the effect nearly reaching
significance. In addition, questionnaire data indicated that NC and AD participants did
not rate significantly differently on either passage clarity or content; AD participants generally find information presented inside boxes in textbooks to be significantly more
helpful than do NC participants; and AD participants read the preface and/or
“Information for Students” at the beginning of a textbook significantly less often than do
NC participants.